Planning and Beginning

Planning is overrated. Planning does not produce anything except, when we’re lucky, a document.

It is true that ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’. And there are times when planning is essential. But to believe that planning is a step forward is wrong. No actual output comes out of planning. Yes, if we are lucky, we can have a direction or a map after planning – but having a map is not the same as taking a journey.

In some cases, planning is even a subtle way to procrastinate. We delude ourselves into thinking that we have accomplished something already just because we have created a plan.

And so we create business plans. We create new year’s resolutions. We download apps that will help us become more fit but don’t use them. We create bucket lists. We tag friends on social media about travel articles we plan to take together ‘someday’. We set up meetings and discuss analogies to make us feel good as if we are doing something. We sign up for online classes we know we will never take. These are all forms of plans.

On the flip side of planning is beginning. Beginning is underrated. It is one of the most difficult things to do. It is hard to begin working on a business you’ve always wanted to have. It is hard to write the first line of the novel you always wanted to write. It is hard to begin a conversation with the person you know you should be talking to. It is hard to begin writing the resume you know you should be making. It is hard to draft the resignation letter you know you should be submitting. Beginning is hard. But it is underrated.